


i'm a hurricane

by Pixielle



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: (bart gets ~1~ chapter out of many bc his inner voice is hard), Aged-Up Character(s), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Artificial Intelligence, Canon Compliant Through Season 2: Invasion, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Emotion!! It's happening!!, Established Relationship, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Just the tenderest of fics, M/M, POV Alternating, jaime just turned 21 and Bart is 18, y'all i read 800 bluepulse fics over the past month and ran out so i'm out for blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 04:51:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20109430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixielle/pseuds/Pixielle
Summary: He had spent thirteen years of his life in a time that was rejecting him, a time-space anomaly existing to save The Flash, save Blue Beetle, save the world from having to fight and endure what he and his family had. What the whole world had.It was like a taut rubber band inside him snapped and broke, his world rectified. For a long time it felt like a dream that it was actually over. Sometimes it still did. But his body and mind existed now as the only living relic of a future that would never be, leaving him without a purpose, alone in the universe.“Hermano, everyone feels like that when you graduate from high school.”





	1. Ch 1

_I'm a wanderer,_  
_I'm a one night stand,_  
_Don't belong to no city,_  
_Don't belong to no man._  
_I'm the violence_  
_In the pouring rain,_  
_I'm a hurricane._

  
Bart always knew it took just one uncorrectable mistake to end it all. Even with time sped down to near nothing, there was always a way for the world to take him down. Fate had a way of making sure. After surviving all he had in his life, he found a lot of surface irony that his first real scare was from a natural force as simple as a hurricane.

Hurricanes had always fascinated him, they were one thing the Reach couldn’t truly control about this earth. A sign, a break in the chain, hope in disguise. The ocean, its churning steel grey-blue water (seemingly unbothered by the darkness that surrounded it), was beautiful to him. On nights when Nathaniel released him from his collar in secret to practice his running, he would skim over the surface of the Atlantic. After a few times he tried closing his eyes to the smog above him and fought with everything in him to envision the stars that his grandmother had talked endlessly about in her final years. He thanked the universe that she had passed on before his speed was discovered by the Reach, before he was taken. He broke Mach Two for the first time that night, Wal- The Flash’s scavenged oversized goggles cracking more under the pressure. But he didn’t regret it, he couldn’t.

Some nights he still went back to the ruins of Mount Justice, just to stare out at the ocean. It was the same ocean, he knew it was logically, but it couldn’t be more different to his eyes. But feeling the spray on his legs when it hit the rocks, like it did when he was nine sent him right back. His body was all angles then and despite everything his father did to keep the truth from him, the stress hung off of Bart regardless. It was like he could feel the universe pulling him back, whispering along his bones to make it right. Because, in the end, he didn’t belong in that future. He had spent thirteen years of his life in a time that was rejecting him, a time-space anomaly existing to save The Flash, save Blue Beetle, save the world from having to fight and endure what he and his family had. What the whole world had.

It was like a taut rubber band inside him snapped and broke, his world rectified. For a long time it felt like a dream that it was actually over. Sometimes it still did. But his body and mind existed now as the only living relic of a future that would never be, leaving him without a purpose, alone in the universe.

“Hermano, everyone feels like that when you graduate from high school.”

Bart rolled his eyes at his best friend, and stuck out his tongue at him before he sped off to catch up with Flash. The speedsters were headed to Houston to keep an eye on a rapidly developing tropical storm and to assist in the evacuation if need be. And, as Blue Beetle was in San Antonio (finishing up his Pre-Med undergrad at UTSA “a year early, muchisimas gracias”), he was coming along to help and assist in translation work, too.

Bart was determined to be of more help this time around, now that he was strong enough to actually carry adults out of danger zones. He had Superboy to thank for that, after helping him train and “bulk”, which was a debatable term as speedsters really couldn’t eat enough food in a day to gain proper additional muscle. But he felt stronger, and after a few years of good old fashioned puberty (not to mention access to food that contained legitimate nutrition and, y’know, sunlight) he was finally, **finally** taller than Jaime. He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to get as tall as Grandpa Barry, but that was okay. If that was the only side effect of his possibly stunted growth, he’d take it arms open, with gratitude.

While Barry met with local authorities to get their game plan approved, Bart went to the closest beach. He could feel the electricity swirling in the air not far off of the coast, and it invigorated him like few other things did. He decided to take a wide run far around the spiraling bands of clouds and rain to check the acceleration rate and keep everyone updated. He sent a quick acknowledgment, and got the go ahead from Barry before he stepped onto the water. Just before the communicators clicked off when he broke Mach One, he heard Jaime say, “Kid, I’m at the beach, Khaji-Da says to watch out for the debr…” before cutting off. But Bart wasn’t worried, he would keep an eye out for oddities, as always.

As he approached closer the storm, the sky visibly darkened to him, only letting light through at the most random of moments. It seemed to be like any normal hurricane he had dealt with in the past, but it made him uneasy trying to scale the storm at this speed. Something about his speed seemed to be interacting with the surface tension of the water differently, and it was still refracting the sun in an odd way.

As he ran, he spotted a glow of blue beneath the surface. He made wide looping circles trying to determine what it was and if it was affecting the storm in any way. The blue was actually pulsing, not unlike a heartbeat, but he wouldn’t be able to tell any more from the surface here. He opened the side of his gauntlet and slipped a mini-rebreather from its slot. He took a slightly deeper breath, and stuck the device between his teeth. During his downtime from the Team Nightwing had modified a few of the devices in order to give the speedsters more accessible emergency options. It was soon after Wally had gone, and Bart suspected it was one of his ways of dealing with it. He sympathised. The size compromised it and wouldn’t give him much time, but he didn’t intend on staying down there longer than absolutely necessary, ten seconds at maximum.

As he phased through the surface of the water, the turquoise glow increased, almost reacting to his presence. But it was surprisingly silent, no mechanical signals or signs of life, and it shifted in his mind that this could be of mystic or alien origin. The milliseconds clicked on in a way that he could almost hear the clock, but he couldn’t imagine taking his eyes off of the radiating glow. As he approached closer it dug into his retinas, pulling, pulling, pulling. The once grounding sound of the rebreather was now a ringing alarm in his mind, breath speeding up. Bart felt his phasing lock up as time slid back to normal, and the communicator clicked back on. With the last of his mental fortitude he forced the empty rebreather out and let a shriek loose before the water filled his mouth. He let his eyes close, but was unable to ignore the blue driving inwards beyond his eyelids as he continued to sink into the darkness.


	2. Ch 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more for today, since it seems this fully encompasses the basis for this fic from both of their perspectives 💙 I have through chapter five finished and I'm currently editing a sixth.
> 
> { } Indicates Khaji Da's speaking.

_Burning cities and napalm skies_  
_Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes,_  
_Your ocean eyes._

  
It had been… a minute since Jaime had gotten a chance to see Bart in real life. Finals were kicking both of them down, and while it wasn’t a reason to be happy, he found himself smiling when Kid Flash showed up at his door requesting his **formal** assistance in Houston today. After a hug, he nodded and suited up. To be honest, he had planned to sit on his ass today and watch old episodes of Space Trek 2022 to recoup some energy after finishing up his finals the day before, but this was way more interesting.

{ There was no need to do so, anyways. }

“You’ve gotta know there’s considerable benefit to healing after mental stress.”

{ Yes, but there would be no healing coming from food of mediocre nutrition and hours of mindless television. }

“I’m still gonna grab a concha on the way home.”

{ … Affirmative. }

Bart went on ahead to meet up with Flash after spending the first half hour flying with Jaime. Jaime hated to admit it, but he was starting to think that Bart was almost too big to carry while he was flying these days. Khaji Da would forever vehemently deny it (“our armor is equipped to brace over ten American tons, this thought is illogical”) and there was no way he’d ever tell Bart, but as the redhead gestured wildly about his graduation party coming up Jaime was more than a little concerned that he was going to drop the speedster.

{ The Impulse is not a child, Jaime Reyes. I informed you that he would be at least 5’10” at his tallest predicted height. }

“Yeah, but it’s still scary how much he’s grown in the past year. I guess it’s hard to see it when it’s happening. He looks so confident these days, so happy.”

{ And this worries you, why? Normal human interaction would indicate that as a positive thing. }

“It is, usually… But Bart has gone through a lot in his life that he’s still dealing with, and I think this is a defense mechanism that he doesn’t realize he’s using.”

{ You are scared that Bart is fading back into his cover because he is lacking the ability to process positive change? }

“Something like that… I truly hope I’m wrong about it though. Bart deserves so much more than what this time can give him after all he did for us.”

{ Indeed, he does. }

Jaime was taken aback a bit at the Scarab’s matter-of-fact agreement with his statement. But that just affirmed to him that he was correct beyond the emotional implications. They flew the rest of the way in companionable silence, but as they arrived at the beach Khaji Da directed them towards Bart’s footprints.

{ We are approaching the point at which the Impulse left the beach. }

“Yeah, I know, he told us he was going in to check out the storm.”

{ Scanning… }

{ … }

{ He is only fifteen miles away. Anomaly confirmed. }

“An anomaly? Anything dangerous that I should let Kid Flash know about?”

{ It appears to be a nonfunctional, partially destroyed, Reach ship. A mere piece of debris from their failed invasion when they deployed their fleet to protect the Earth. }

“Understood.”

Jaime wasn’t going to lie and say that the sound of that didn’t unsettle him, but he figured he was better off letting Bart know ahead of time if he noticed anything out of the ordinary. He opened the direct channel in hopes of catching him before he went out of range.

“Kid, I’m at the beach, Khaji Da says to watch out for the debris. Evidently it’s from the Reach’s attempt at invading but it’s nonfunctional and of no immediate danger- Kid? Bart? Fuck…”

{ Scan completed, he is the same distance from us but his speed has increased considerably. }

“Why would he be circling in one spot when the hurricane is moving towards land? Oh no…”

He moved into action to release their wings from where they were folded in, anticipating moving in immediately, but the Scarab stopped him short.

{ Jaime, notify The Flash that we are suspecting something is wrong. For your safety as well as the Impulse’s. }

“Oh, of course.”

The chat with Flash was concise, as they lifted off the ground in the direction the scarab indicated. Evidently he had called in Superman for backup because there already was a substantial amount of power lines and large trees down from the winds that needed to be secured before the hurricane made its way inland. Barry was concerned about the Reach ship and Bart’s possible investigation of it, but he had to cut off the conversation short with, “Keep him safe, Bug. Y’know better than any of us what happened to him because of them.”

Anxiety was very rarely a factor of Jaime’s “hero-ing” (as Milagro called it) anymore after so long in the game, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t adrenaline (which was impossible to avoid). He could attest that most of the time, the exposure to high stress situations made him better at dealing with other forms of stress. However, a little bit of that pure anxiety from years ago had already dripped into him at the scarab’s mention that the anomaly was of Reach origin, and the fact that Bart was involved tripled that.

Six combined years as friends and more had led Bart to open up to Jaime somewhat in regards to his childhood, but it had come in flashes here and there and not a dramatic emotional waterfall like in the movies. Jaime could sympathize to some degree, just imagining trying to phrase how you feel about your past when your entire lifetime to that point was during the direct enslavement and extinction of humanity was… horrific. Nevertheless, small things brought small remembrances, and it brought a different veneer to Bart’s face. Not necessarily sad, not necessarily frightened, but almost meditative in a way that reminded Jaime of his grandmother when he was a child.

During Día de los Muertos he would watch her intently as they sat in the cemetery, Milagro running around screeching like a little demonia and his mother chased her closely (as if there weren’t dozens of children and parents doing the exact same thing, pretending not to be interrupting everyone else’s day as well). But his grandmother was never bothered, for she had gone through the exact same thing as all of them, the watcher like Jaime and the same cat and mouse like both Milagro and Jaime’s mother. As she breathed looking onto the memorials and her family, the only way he could describe her expression was contented acceptance. But deep down Jaime couldn’t help but wonder if there actually was some inkling of doubt, something left behind after a lifetime of hard decisions.

As he flew, a faint glow came over the horizon.

“Khaji… It shouldn’t be…”

{ It is in beacon mode. }

“Beacon? Like humans would make a lighthouse, to prevent things from hitting it?”

{ Not exactly, yes it is meant to deter other intelligent species by broadcasting the Reach’s ownership of this planet through interlac, but it is also designed to draw in someone who is marked by the Reach to be able to repair it to a functional state. }

“Can you stop the broadcasting? The Justice League may not be able to get someone to end it, and with this hurricane incoming we don’t want to lose it as it is!”

{ I can try, my rank of infiltrator was allotted some degree of freedom in regard to fleet mainten- }

As the scarab spoke, they were interrupted by the sound of Jaime’s communicator channel clicking on followed by a blood curdling scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaime and Khaji have a very Greedling from FMAB aura to them. Dialogue can be a grind for me personally, but I really love writing their interactions a lot!


	3. Ch 3

_'Cause I've done some things that I can't speak_  
_And I tried to wash you away, but you just won't leave_  
_So won't you take a breath and dive in deep?_  
_'Cause I came here so you'd come for me_

_I'm begging you to keep on haunting me_

The instant the scream came through the communicator, Jaime knew what had happened. Blue’s jetpack brought them to the site of the ship before Jaime could blink and sent them through the surface of the water. The beetle wings morphed into a rudder, driving them further down, all the while scanning. Luckily Bart hadn’t yet been pulled all the way to the ship yet, and Blue was able to spot his suit in no time. He grabbed onto him and dragged him to the surface, keeping an eye on his face for signs of decompression issues.

“He’s not conscious, I can’t do anything for him here in the water…”

They lifted up into the air, wings having reformed, and a few of Khaji’s limbs wrapped around Bart to secure him. Their now free hand formed into a sonic cannon, and directed itself towards the ship for a ridiculously tense moment (what must have been five seconds at most).

{ Beacon signal terminated. Evacuate now. }

The flight to the beach was something that Jaime hoped to never experience again in his life, Bart lying limp and cold in his arms. The only comforting thing was Khaji reading off Bart’s vitals, which weren’t dropping or changing dramatically yet.

Jaime began chest compressions as soon as Bart hit the sand, his medical training sending him into overdrive.

{ **Breathe**, Jaime. The Impulse’s heart rate is steady, no major injuries. He will wake momentarily. }

After a few more panicked seconds of compressions, Bart finally showed signs of life beneath his pale face. A sudden cough erupted water through his purple, oxygen deprived lips, and Jaime rushed to turn him on his side. He busied himself by rubbing Bart’s back behind his lungs and pushing his bangs back before realizing he should probably take off the speedster’s goggles. Khaji noted how impressed they were with the water delaying nature of them, and Jaime couldn’t even concentrate enough to be annoyed at the Scarab’s innocent observation. He slid the goggles off of Bart’s eyes, careful not to snag them on his seawater soaked hair. Bart’s breathing, though rough-hewn and straining, was beginning to stabilize.

“If you can hear me, open your eyes. Please, Bart…”

Khaji pulled back their faceplate in the interim and Jaime went to thank him for being thoughtful about it, but Bart grasped onto his hand. His eyes opened a crack, and when Jaime went in to touch him, he weakly held up a finger. The vibration of phasing beneath Jaime’s hand spooked him slightly, but it was over quickly with Bart moved maybe three feet back.

“Had to get the rest of the water out, getting your lungs drained manually is so not crash...”

Jaime couldn’t contain the inane laughter that ripped through him at that statement, and bent to pick Bart up again.

“I’m not even gonna pry about how you know that because I’m so happy you’re alive. We’ve gotta get out of the impact zone, the hurricane is picking up speed. Flash warned me it was less than five miles off the coast right before I went under for you. He called Superman in to assist.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I think I’m okay to fly. Can we just Zeta up to the Watchtower for now?” The words dribbled out of Bart’s mouth like sand, slow flowing like they almost never did. It worried Jaime, but the fact that Bart was with it enough to suggest the Watchtower kept Jaime from panicking more. He placed the goggles into Bart’s lap, and the younger worked his hands around the strap, clutching onto them like a lifeline.

“Mhmm, let’s go. I think I should get Nightwing to do a wellness check on you to see if we should get you checked out at a hospital.”

Bart nodded and lightly grunted as Jaime hoisted him up into his arms, and they lifted off the ground. The ten minute flight to Houston’s Zeta tube was fairly quiet, as most of the outer city closest to the coast was already evacuated, but Jaime still kept his eyes open for anyone or anything out of the norm. With Bart curled up to his chest and looking like he was close to dozing off, it wasn’t like Jaime could do anything about it apart from calling Flash in, anyways.

It was rare that Khaji Da participated in the “carrying Bart for fun’s sake”, but now they braced against Jaime’s arms to prevent fatigue. The movement brought a small grin to Jaime’s face.

“You’re getting soft in your old age, Da.”

{ I was merely- }

“I know, I know. It’s a good thing, amor.”

Khaji simply released an exasperated trill, and Jaime could swear Bart reacted to it as he shook himself awake. He landed as gently as possible at the small Zeta shelter and toed his way into the door.

“Relax, it’s all good, we’re almost there, just gotta check in- Injury, yellow, two to Watchtower.”

The robotic voice echoed in that familiar way while Bart sighed and closed his eyes again as the scanning light passed over them.

“Approved:

Blue Beetle, B 2 2

Kid Flash, B 2 3”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action is so not my forte, pero here it is. Next comes my favourite bat baby, I'm so excited!


	4. Ch 4

_She didn't choose this role_  
_But she'll play it and make it sincere so_  
_You cry, you cry (Give me a break)_  
_But they believe it from the tears and the teeth_  
_Right down to the blood at her feet_

  
They met up with Nightwing when he walked out of the medbay, Bart still sleeping against Jaime’s chest. He again awoke at being laid onto the solid table, winced, and sat up in a frightened reaction. And then loudly doubled over in pain, unable to do anything but cradle his middle.

“I’ll do a onceover on him, let me get… heat for that strain,” Nightwing said while running to a cabinet and looking back at Jaime, “what the hell happened out there? It was supposed to be a routine secure and rescue.”

“We didn’t even get that far… Scarab said there aren’t any major injuries, no broken bones, his vitals have stayed fairly steady over this whole situation. I’m just worried about how worn out he is and possible stress on his lungs after being in the process of drowning. He actually phased most of the water out once we made it to the beach, which was… kinda cool.”

Nightwing puffed out an amused chuckle and plugged the black blanket into a socket beneath the table, and gingerly placed it on top of Bart as he shivered. Jaime thought it was probably in pain over being cold, but it wouldn’t hurt either way. Continuous heat would probably do more for him than the elephant’s worth of pain meds that would be necessary for him anyways. Nightwing bent down then and spoke in a calm, firm voice.

“Bart… can you speak? Do you want Blue to move you to one of the cots for the time being so you don’t have to be all scrunched up on this table?”

A hesitant nod came before Bart bent back up (much, much slower than he did before). There was a minuscule quick look at Jaime, then Nightwing, then back to Jaime before he paused and said, “I’m okay, I just need to rest,” before moving to sling his arm around Jaime’s shoulder. The blanket slid from his own shoulders and pillowed half onto the table and half off, but Jaime was already walking with Bart towards a line of cots on the other side of the room.

Leaning into Bart’s ear, he said in a low voice, “And just over an hour ago I was thinking you were getting too big for us to carry, turns out Khaji didn’t feel like carrying his own share until you were critically injured.”

Bart snorted, and for the first time since all of this had happened, a small grin cracked onto his face. To Jaime, it felt like the sun had just come out from behind a cloud, beaming warm onto his skin. The redhead then reached over to grab at one of the scarab’s limbs cradling around him and held onto it, a slow, fond “Lazy bug…” coming out of his mouth. Jaime set Bart down gingerly, and he leant back of his own volition, salt dried hair flopping back onto the pillow in clumps, still clinging tightly to Blue.

Nightwing eyed Bart’s grasp for a microsecond, but went about his manual checks as normal. Bart soon began dozing off again, and eventually his hand slipped down to the bed. After Nightwing gave Jaime the nod and his head tilted towards the hall, he continued typing on the holoscreen on his wrist as he meandered out of the room. Jaime quickly grabbed the abandoned blanket and turned it on low before covering Bart in it. He placed a light kiss to his forehead before briskly walking out to follow Nightwing.

“Your scarab was right, everything looks fine. He’s just worn out, speedster healing should take care of the more minor aches and pains fairly quickly. I’ll let you guys get some rest for today, but we’ve gotta get a full report on what happened soon. Flash reported that it was of Reach origin, but not explicitly dangerous, I’m sure the Justice League will want to investigate if it’s still there after the storm.”

“To be honest, I’m not even sure if either of us know the full story of what happened yet, but I’ll try to talk it through with him once he wakes up and gets something to eat.”

“Sounds good, I’m headed out for the afternoon to meet up with an undercover agent, but let me know if his condition worsens or if he doesn’t improve by tonight. My in-ear comm will be on all day, you know how to find me.”

“Of course, will do. Stay safe out there, Nightwing.”

Nightwing looked onto Jaime’s concerned face before nodding and vaguely saluted, “You too, Blue.”

A quick check of the clock revealed it was barely after four, and while Jaime was a bit weary, he didn’t feel the need to nap in the afternoon like an old man. He decided to pull up a doctor’s chair next to the cot and get some reading done on his phone. As he sat he gently slid a hand through Bart’s now completely dry hair, he sighed at how much sand was actually still in it.

{ A shower is necessary. }

“I know, I have a feeling other things will be much more pertinent when he wakes up,” Jaime whispered lightly, “Namely how hungry he’ll be.”

{ Then perhaps food preparation would be polite? }

“Wow Da, you’ve got those value contradictions down, you don’t even need me anymore.”

{ I will always need you, Jaime. }

“... I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t that.”

{ But it is the truth. }

“Mhmm, love you too.”

A gentle warmth pulsed through their nervous system and faded out just as quickly. Jaime slowly rolled his eyes but a small smile popped through his expression anyways.

“Let’s go make some soup.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we love and appreciate Richard John "Dick" "Ric" Grayson in this household. next chapters will be hurt/comfort city so gird yourself y'all


	5. Ch 5

_I know this whole damn city thinks it needs you_   
_But not as much as I do_

_'Cause you're the last of a dying breed_   
_I wonder if your therapist knows_   
_Everything about me_

_It’s that ultra-kind of love _   
_You never walk away from,_   
_You're just the last of the real ones._

It turned out that the Watchtower kept a pretty well stocked kitchen, at least in terms of protein bars; Jaime couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous that cabinet looked to someone who actually maintained a normal kitchen. But he was able to scrounge together a fairly large batch of black bean soup, ex nihilo, and in very little time. It wasn’t the exact same as the spice blend wasn’t something he could nail down on Earth (not to mention on a giant floating rock in space, especially after the kind of day they’d had) but it was definitely fine. He ladled two bowls and ambled back to the medbay, taking the time to clear his head.

Bart was still sleeping, but evidently less deeply as he had turned over onto his side at some point. Jaime set down the steaming bowls on the small table near the head of the cot before sitting down. As Jaime leant over towards him, hand hovering near his face, Bart’s eyes flashed open, startlingly green in the dim lighting. Jaime closed the distance, cupping around his cheek in a way he hoped was soothing. Bart let out a sigh at the contact and closed his eyes to a small slit, but still leant into the touch.

“Amor, you should probably have something to eat, if you’re up to it.”

“Mhmm, in a second, just let me have this for now…” Bart’s voice had a lower, more graveled quality to it than normal, but at least in tone sleep seemed to have rejuvenated him.

“You really are out of wack, turning down my **homemade** soup like this,” Jaime teased, rubbing his calloused thumb over the fine-boned cheekbone.

“You know it, normally I’d be fighting tooth and nail for it. Probably will be once I get a taste.”

“C’mon, I’ll help you sit up.”

“Will you spoon-feed me too?” A pure laugh rang through the metallic room and echoed as Bart sat up and Jaime adjusted the blanket on top of him.

“D’you wanna know the real answer to that question?” Bart’s eyes gleamed in light amusement, a sizeable smile on his lips as he listened, before nodding in response.

“I would in a heartbeat if I had to, or if I could, but I think I’m far too slow for your liking today.”

The smile on Bart’s face widened impossibly farther, and he said with a chuckle, “Okay, I'll admit it, maybe I’d probably definitely get super impatient. But for sweet talking me just how I like it, Señor Dependable, I have a reward for you.”

“For the record, I meant it. They weren’t just empty words.”

“I believe you, I do. Now come here-”

Bart grasped at Jaime’s soft tee shirt and pulled them together, inaccessibly dry lips an unglamorous side effect of his job. After a moment Jaime drew back to lick over his own and noted the taste of salt- seawater, before sliding them back together. The hold Bart had on the other’s shirt released and the hand traveled up and to wrap around the back of Jaime’s neck.

The hand was ultra-warm against the sensitive skin, making a shiver run down his spine. It felt like life, they were both alive, and so far away from that beach where Bart felt more like a corpse than the living, breathing, beautiful, vibrant person sat in front of him now. The insistent press to the back of his neck brought Jaime forward and deepened the kiss, gentle smacking sounds obnoxious in the near-silent room. Eventually Jaime found the restraint to pull away and press their foreheads together as Bart caught his breath.

“Okay, you’ve really gotta eat,” Jaime’s breath came in thin, wavering pants, “Baaaad influence, Bart, stop distracting me from taking care of you...”

But still, a brief ping pong battle of chaste kisses still passed between them before Jaime shoved himself back into his chair. The movement made the other laugh in the most genuine, unappealing way and Jaime couldn’t resist giving him a hug, hand weaving into his gritty hair.

“Hey, what happened to shoving food at me? Blue?” The tips of Bart’s fingers ran across the edge of the scarab and tan skin through Jaime’s shirt idly.

“I’m just… so happy you’re safe.”

Bart pulled back to look in Jaime’s eyes “I’m happy you’re safe too! But do you know what that means?”

“Lord above, what does that mean?”

“You finally got me back for that “saving you from mortal peril!” thing. I’d say five years was a pretty good run.”

“Bart… I...”

But Bart just grabbed the bowl from the table and leaned back against the metal wall with it with a happy little sigh. He stirred it around for a moment to redistribute the heat before tucking in full force. Jaime did the same to the other bowl in exasperation, and took a few frustrated bites just to make sure it wasn’t too cold. By the time Jaime had finished checking his phone to answer a text from his mom and looked up, Bart was making grabby hands at him with a quirked brow and a smirk.

“Here, change with me,” Jaime said, while moving the near-full bowl towards the swiping hands, “I might have completely anticipated this.”

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouth-”

Jaime took the empty bowl from Bart’s lap and set it on the side table, “I think the cruel mistress Fate directed me to you not because of the scarab on my back but my ability to contain your mental hunger and still get you to use your manners.”

As Bart finished, Jaime thought about what had been a funny chat with Artemis about dealing with that aspect of being with a speedster. It really came down to her saying point blank that that’s how life is for them 24/7 and they didn’t get to choose how their body worked. Bart, despite having had a slightly disordered relationship with food all of his life, described it as feeling just shy of the hungriest he’s ever felt, but all of the time. Like there wouldn’t be enough food in the world to keep that feeling away, but you get used to it.

“So, what are you more desperate for: more food or a shower? I think you’re gonna start turning into a seaweed if you sit with that sand in your hair anymore.”

“Food, but believe it or not I’m actually kind of scared to use my superspeed to eat any faster at the moment… And you’re right, the sand is starting to annoy me.”

“No no, I get it, you shouldn’t until you have the chance to get a proper night’s sleep. Are you up to walking now, or do you wanna try after?”

“You know that there’s no situation in this world where I’ll turn down you carrying me.”

“I honestly don’t know why I thought any different.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ a f f e c t i on ~  
i actually edited this chapter with a friend the other day and we were both embarrassingly affected by my "middle of the night brain's flowery romanticism" here, that will be a memory I have forever lmaooo


	6. Ch 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the sad, enjoy!
> 
> (bart pov, i lied there are two bookending this fic- not just the first chapter)

_Maybe I could save you from your sins_  
_My, my, my, you found this, you need this_  
_Take a deep breath, baby, let me in_

_'Cause even in the dark, I feel your resistance_  
_You can see my heart, burning in the distance_

_You lose your way, just take my hand_  
_You're lost at sea, then I'll command your boat to me again_  
_Don't look too far, right where you are, that's where I am_  
_I'm your man_  
_I’m your man_

The bath that Bart’s sitting in is utilitarian at best. Black metal tucked away into the corner of the medbay bathroom, looking more like it belongs in the Batcave than the Watchtower. Aggressively hot water steams out of the tap and the nearly full tub, droplets running down the speedster’s muscled legs as he pulled his knees up to his chest. A sigh leaves his mouth as he presses his forehead against his knee and leans against the side of the tub, arms wrapping around his legs to fold in around him, containing and safe.

** _How can I possibly explain… How…_ **

The click of an intercom turning on comes through the door before he hears “Khaji heard that sigh through special space metal, that’s serious, cielo.”

“Computer, open.”

The door slides open, and silence encroaches as remnants of Bart’s dry words ping themselves around the room.

Jaime had run to grab some disposable toiletries from one of the guest rooms set up for “intergalactic emergencies” (said in an extremely deep-voiced yet solid Martian Manhunter impression, in Bart’s opinion) as well as a change of civvies from the younger’s locker. Bart hadn’t stuck to the game plan and got up to stretch after the other had been gone for a minute, still aching muscles starting to tighten up as he sat on the cot. Jaime didn’t seem particularly bothered when he walked in. 

Bart still didn’t raise his head from where it was pressed, but he could hear the other turn away for a short moment to click the sequence to close the door behind him. Jaime, too, lingered a microsecond too long as he was facing the holopanel on the wall before he took a noticeable breath, and turned towards Bart. 

As he walked over, clutched in one hand was the small clear bag and towels, as well as the speedster’s offensively bright super suit. Bart had flung it onto the floor of the open medbay in frustration. He didn’t realize how difficult it was to get that sucker off without using his superspeed. Jaime reaches down to turn the tap off, the water level getting dangerously high without Bart actively watching it.

“Can I… touch you?” 

The quiet, almost scared sounding voice startles Bart out of his meditative trance more than shrieking and clashing metal would’ve. Once the words register, he raises his head up to look at Jaime, who’s now kneeling beside him. Concern and something else slip across Jaime’s face in waves, and Bart almost feels bad for acting this way now, when Jaime’s naturally anxious disposition is at its most severe.

“Your hair, I mean.” Jaime’s voice shivers, quaking with the effort of keeping himself inwards. A nod follows from Bart, and he adjusts his sitting posture with his back to Jaime, giving them both some emotional distance.

After today, it feels like a revenge of his reignited instincts to have his back to Blue Beetle, but still he does it without hesitation. He doesn’t flinch as everything drops to the floor and arms wrap tight, but not inhumanly tight, around him. He doesn’t flinch as he feels silent tears drop onto his shoulder, and shuddering breaths buffer against his neck. The tears run down his chest, warm trails that shouldn’t be comforting but are.

But that’s the difference really, it’s warm. It’s all so warm. Jaime’s scorching him, scalding to his skin in a way that neither water nor fire could and it’s all Bart has ever wanted. The warmth of humanity pulses inside Jaime differently than anyone else on this Earth, on **any** Earth, in any time or reality could. And maybe that’s why Bart’s still here. He could build another time machine if he wanted, satisfy the curiosity inside of everyone. But he won’t. After everything, he has allowed himself to be selfish about one thing, and it still feels wrong until Jaime’s arms are around him.

Bart drops his chin and presses a silent kiss to the warm hand in front of him, and Jaime nudges his nose behind the other’s ear in acknowledgment. Feelings simmer there just below a boil, neither of them willing to turn the fire underneath them up or down. 

Hesitating. 

Hesitating. 

Hesitating. 

Jaime breaks the silence with a whisper, low enough that it feels like it’s falling over Bart like a blanket.

“I… I’m sorry but why? Er- do you know why your powers cut when you got near that thing? Khaji tried to explain it but I don’t really understand it and… I never want that to happen to you again.”

Bart tries to speak, and coughs through the hot air that’s both aggravating and soothing his rough throat, “What do you know? What did Khaji-Da tell you, what do they know?”

“They described it as the ship being in beacon mode. On one hand, the beacon deters other alien races and on the other functions to call in someone who could fix it. I take it you are human, so it’s probably the second. But how can it do that, and why did it affect you and not me?”

“I’m meta-human, that’s probably the only reason I survived in that future as long as I did.”

“Bart…”

“Okay- it’s of Reach origin too, obviously.”

He feels Jaime nod, a degree of reluctance but not wanting to interrupt.

“It was implanted onto my spinal cord when I was nine. They discovered I had a true hereditary metagene that didn’t require manual activation. Evidently that was rare in the future because of their systematic... removal of supers that weren’t purely human or couldn't be controlled. Or the people who participated in the revolts, like Wally. I had no idea that their biotech was already advanced to the level it was at this part of the timeline, but I should’ve anticipated this somehow after seeing the similarities to your infiltrator scarab. Take it out, I die.”

Jaime's voice is terse yet tepid at Bart's cut and dry explanation, but he understands, “So this… technology, it’s always been there? And you never told any of us?”

“I’m sure Bats knows about it in some form, he knows everything about everyone.”

Bart laughs, empty, but the sound in itself is comforting. Jaime drags his lips over where his back is hunched over, where his own scarab is placed, and Bart thinks ‘it’s lower…’ but can’t bring himself to say it out loud.

“I had silently hoped that day that somehow they’d find a way to remove your scarab, before I really knew who you were. I was selfish to think that maybe it would be a sign that I could be free of my tracer too. Even though I knew deep down that’s not how this would work out…” 

“Something about it scared me, like if I told anyone somehow I’d be the one to turn you. I’d get my Reach placard as “Time-Space Anomaly #1”, cursed to end the world as we know it over and over and over until there’s nothing left but ash and death. But I think now that that wasn’t the case, they didn’t anticipate me, I came back far enough into the past. We got away with it. We did it.”

“And yet, you’re still tethered to them. No freedom, after everything you gave up, for me, for the world. I hate…”

“We both are- and no amount of hatred will change that. Even if there wasn’t a physical **thing** there, all of this will be a part of me forever. It’s something we’ll have to think about and prepare for for the rest of our lives. I’m all in, Jaime, just like I am with Khaji. It depends on you.”

“You know there’s no way in this universe I’d ever walk away from you of my own volition. This doesn’t change anything.”

“I knew that’s what you’d say, why was I so scared?”

“We both know PTSD does some wacky things to the _**logic**_ centers of our brains. I could feel when that brain fog came rolling in even more than that hurricane.”

“Okay, stop calling me out!”

Bart shimmies his shoulders gently, and the other squeezes tight before releasing him and sitting back on his knees. Bart turns to lean against the edge, and looks up at Jaime for a second before smiling at him. Jaime takes a final shaky breath and rubs at his eyes for a second.

“Sorry for that little stress breakdown on my end, I know it’s probably not how you feel but… I didn’t mean to influence you like that, take away your choice to tell that part of your story for my own need for comfort.”

“Honestly, I think it was what I needed too. Otherwise it would’ve never come out.”

Jaime’s face pauses for a second, listening, and Bart is for some reason relieved that the scarab finally decided to say something. Jaime rolls his eyes in a way he uses pretty much exclusively for Khaji-Da.

“Do I want to know?”

“No, they were just commenting on how touchy you’ve made me. Got me all “dependent on physical contact for reassurance” like that’s not a normal human need.”

Bart hums affirmatively before dipping his head back, finally properly wetting his hair. It slicks down the nape of his neck as he sits back up and he sighs.

“There we go,” Gently, “let’s get the last of today off of you.”

Bart pauses for a moment in thought before he’s laughing, and Jaime grabs for his nose like his mother used to to get his attention. Bart bats his hand away from his face before grabbing it and holding it firmly to his chest to keep Jaime from walking away from what he’s about to say (not that he would now, but on principle).

“Sand… It's coarse and rough and irritating. And it gets everywheeeeeere.” He pulls out the last syllable purposefully to annoy Jaime before dissolving into giggles.

Jaime feigns pulling on his arm as Bart clings on, sputtering out “Buen diosito, I love you and I’m so very thankful you’re alive, but please no.” 

But Jaime’s smiling, face betraying him as he looks at Bart and how happy he is to have pulled off the stupid joke. And even after everything, today and forever, Jaime’s happy too.

  
  


_ “Give me Hallmark- _

_ One dream, one life, one lover, _

_ Paint me happy in **blue**.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the tone of this final chapter seemed a little different, I had to take a break from writing this for a second, then started a new bp fic that already has over 2k words done (and it's only a wip at the moment eek), and then decided "i have to finish i'm a hurricane if my life depends on it". So my brain might have been a tiny bit confused here or there. 
> 
> (tfw you have a fic topic that a more talented/less ill writer could turn into a 100k word emotionally devastating yet beautiful fic but you can barely spit out 10k words on your best, most inspired piece ever ;_;)
> 
> I still hope you liked it and it scratched a little bit of your bluepulse itch! i will always love these chiquis, i would honestly die for them if given the chance. they're my soulmate otp and i will never abandon them (no matter what happens in the ridiculous landscape that is canon yj post s2, lmao).
> 
> kudos to you if you got that last reference :P

**Author's Note:**

> pixielle22 @ twitter | pixielle @ tumblr


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